Nothing Else Matters
by JoolsFan
Summary: In the weeks before the wedding, Maria is confronted with the gossip about her and Georg. How will she react? PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK! Story updated - now complete.
1. A Little Accident

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS - by JoolsFan  
  
PG, last chapter PG-13 for one bad word.  
  
Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story aren't mine.. unfortunately. Just playing around with them, no money is being made!  
  
Summary: In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Maria is confronted with the gossip about her and Georg. I touched this subject shortly in chapter 2 of my story 'The Wedding Day' and I thought it was interesting enough to write a separate story about it.  
  
PLEASE send feedback! I live off it! JoolsFan  
  
Chapter 1 - A little Accident  
  
"Fraulein Maria! Father! Come quickly!" Kurt stormed out onto the terrace where Maria, Georg and Max were sitting drinking tea, while Marta and Gretl sat together playing with their dolls. All heads turned immediately to Kurt. "What, what is it?" Georg demanded of his youngest son, standing up from his chair. "It's Frau Schmidt," Kurt said, panting slightly from running. "She slipped and fell down the stairs!" Startled, they all ran into the house and stumbled into the hall. Surrounded by Liesl, Friedrich and Louisa, Frau Schmidt was sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She was holding her right leg and was obviously in pain. Maria walked over to her quickly. "Frau Schmidt? What happened?" she asked. "I'm not sure," answered the housekeeper. "I was just coming down the stairs and before I knew it, I slipped, and there I was flat on my face before I knew what had happened." She tried to lift her leg and winced. "It's my ankle, I think it's sprained," she explained. Now the captain also bent over his housekeeper and took a short look at the ankle, which was indeed visibly swelling up. "Yes, that must hurt," he confirmed, and, looking at Friedrich, he mentioned him with his head to come over. "Friedrich, give Frau Schmidt a hand," he instructed, nodding toward her left side. He himself stood by her right and supported her arm. "Do you think you can stand up?" He looked at Frau Schmidt kindly. "We need to get you into a chair and put that foot up." Frau Schmidt nodded uncertainly. With the help of Friedrich and the Captain, she managed to get up. She was a little wobbly, but carefully, the helped her down the last steps to the hall and sat her down in one of the chairs. Georg looked up to see only Kurt, Liesl and Louisa standing around. "Where are Maria and uncle Max," he asked his eldest daughter. "Oh, I think they.." Liesl began, motioning her hand toward the door, only to be interrupted by Max, who came from the salon and announced that a doctor was on his way. Almost at the same time, Maria returned with wet, cold towels from the kitchen and started taking care of the sprained ankle of Frau Schmidt. "I'll just go outside and see what Marta and Gretl are up to," said Louisa, who'd noticed that her little sisters had not followed the little group into the house. The girls had probably missed out on all the commotion, so wrapped up were they in their game of dolls. Georg watched her back as she walked to the terrace, and then looked around at the rest of his family with a sense of wonder, but also pride at how smoothly they seemed to be working together to cope with this small disaster. The only one he missed was Brigitta, he thought. It seemed that Maria read his mind. Looking up from her administrations to Frau Schmidt, she said: "Brigitta is in the children's classroom, dear. She is reading Les Miserables in French.. She said she wanted some peace and quiet, she is probably reading so intensely that she hasn't heard a thing." And then, turning to the housekeeper, asked, "Are you better yet, Frau Schmidt?" She nodded in agreement. "Yes, a little bit better. Thank you so much for your help. I'm so sorry to cause all this excitement!" Maria just shook her head, and Georg added that it was no trouble. "Let's just hope it is not too bad." He looked at the remaining children. "Come, let's give Frau Schmidt some peace," he said, and motioned for them to come outside with him. Max also walked out with them, while Maria remained in the hall with Frau Schmidt, waiting for the doctor to arrive.  
  
When Maria emerged outside about half an hour later, she only found Max and Georg on the terrace, sharing the newspapers. She sat down with a relieved sigh. "Well, the doctor just arrived," she announced at the questioning faces of both men. "He says it's not broken, just severely bruised. Frau Schmidt should keep her foot up for a few days, and then take it easy for a while longer, but there is nothing serious to worry about." "Good, good," nodded Georg. "She should take whatever rest she needs."  
  
"Right," agreed Maria. "Which is why I promised her that I would take care of dinner tonight!" She flashed him a bright smile across the table. And when she noticed the surprised look on his face, she added: "Well I do know how to cook you know...And I thought the children could help me."  
  
Georg mumbled something incomprehensible. Maria couldn't understand a word of it, but somehow, she didn't think he was too convinced of either her or the children's cooking skills. She pointed a finger at him and tried giving him a stern look. "Just you wait," she said. Georg pretended not to notice, but the corners of his mouth curled up in an involuntary smile. Max, who'd followed their little exchange, couldn't help but grin. Maria had an airy, playful way with Georg that amused him greatly.  
  
Maria looked around. "Speaking of the children, where are they," she wondered. Georg lowered his paper to look at her over the edge. "Oh, they are out in the garden somewhere. Probably in the rose patch, they said something about wanting to pick Frau Schmidt a flower bouquet." "Oh how sweet," smiled Maria. "Well, I was going to take them into town with me to do some shopping for dinner, but in this case maybe I should leave them to their business.... I'll be a lot quicker on my own, too," she mused. "Oh they won't be happy if you don't take them," grinned Georg, but Maria waved away his comment. "I have to go into town again on Friday, to, eh, arrange a certain something about my wedding gown, I can take them with me then." She smiled mischievously at Georg's raised eyebrows. "And no, I'm not telling you what certain something... You'll just have to wait and be patient."  
  
With that, she got up from her chair and walked over to Georg, wanting to plant a quick kiss on his forehead. Just as her lips neared his face, Georg quickly tilted his head upwards and pressed his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss. Maria replied in eager surprise, but quickly retrieved when she heard Max explicitly clearing his throat. She felt her cheeks flush. "I won't be long then," she whispered at Georg, and disappeared. As Georg tried to return to his paper, he felt Max's stare lingering on him. "What," he asked innocently, his face blank. "Oh.. nothing," returned Max, but the grin remained on his face for quite a little longer. 


	2. PointyHat and Diamond Earrings

I stole the line "I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about' from Mary Poppins. So, not very original. but it worked perfectly.  
  
Chapter 2 - Pointy Hat and Diamond Earrings  
  
Georg had been right about the children's reaction. They protested high and low when Maria told them she'd be going into town without them. "Please, Fraulein Maria, can't we come? We'll be really good," was Marta's try to convince her. She pressed herself against Maria in a tight hug to add to her words. "Not this time, sweetheart," Maria smiled down at her. "Frau Schmidt has given me this long, boring shopping list to take care of. But this afternoon you can all help me cook" - this was met by excited murmur - "and on Friday, I have to go into town again and then you can all come with me. All right? Now go on picking flowers for Frau Schmidt." Her statement was met by loud chatter. "Can we really help you cook?" This was Louisa. "Oh, are we going into town on Friday?" Liesl looked excited, she always loved going into Salzburg and looking at the shops. Maria confirmed all of this again, and with a last pat on Gretl's head, made her way to back to the house.  
  
She decided to take the bus into town. She could ask Franz to drive her, but she didn't really feel comfortable around Franz. Apart from the short conversation they'd shared the day she arrived, he'd hardly exchanged ten words with her and somehow, he made her feel uneasy. And anyway she loved the bus ride into town - she could sit back and look at the mountains, the lake, and enjoy a quiet moment by herself.  
  
Once she sat down in the bus, she got the list Frau Schmidt had given to her out of her purse. Unfortunately, Tuesday was the housekeeper's usual shopping day and the list was long. A household of 10 people, not even counting staff, obviously ate a great deal of food. Maria scanned the list, and besides food and drink also found a few other items on it for which she'd have to go to a linen shop. Okay, she thought, I'll go to the market first, then the drugstore, and the linen shop last.  
  
So she did, and an hour and a half later, she was in the linen department at Mueller's, Salzburg's largest department store. All the shop attendants were busy, so Maria enjoyed herself with looking around a bit. Shelves and shelves of fine table linen, sheets and soft towels in lovely colours surrounded her.  
  
After 5 minutes of waiting, a girl with a name badge announcing that she was Fraulein Spielberg walked up to her. "Can I help you," she asked politely. Maria nodded and took out her shopping list. "I would like to order some table linen for the Von Trapp family. The housekeeper wrote down the particulars here, but she said that you would probably know what she needed, as she always orders the linen here?" "Oh yes, " said Fraulein Spielberg, looking at the note in Maria's hand and nodding. "We have been supplying all of the linen for the Trapp villa for years. Could Frau Schmidt not come by herself?" While she spoke, she walked around the counter and took out a book marked 'Deliveries'. Maria shook her head. "She has hurt her ankle. Nothing serious, but she asked me to do the shopping for her." Fraulein Spielberg leafed through the delivery book. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she said, lifting up her head to look at Maria. "Please give her my best wishes." Then she continued. "Now look here," she pointed to the page," we will be able to have what you need delivered at the villa by Thursday. Is that all right?" "Just fine, that will be wonderful," replied Maria, a little surprised at the efficiency of this shop girl. "Thank you very much then. I'll be sure to give Frau Schmidt your regards, Fraulein, eh," she looked at the name badge, "Fraulein Spielberg. Goodbye!"  
  
She turned around and meant to head for the stairs, when she was stopped by two elderly ladies. They were dressed rather conservatively in skirts that practically reached the ground, something that had actually gone out of fashion years before. But from the materials of their clothes, the fur- lined hats and painfully precise hairdo's, Maria could tell they were probably quite wealthy. She didn't think she had ever seen them before though, so a little surprised that they had spoken to her, she asked "Yes?"  
  
"My dear girl, we couldn't help but overhear you ordering linen for the Von Trapp household," the woman on Maria's left began. She wore a funny, pointed hat, which bobbed on her head as she spoke and which made Maria want to smile. She managed to keep a straight face however, and nodded to the woman in encouragement, still wondering where this was going. "Well," Pointy-hat continued, "We just want to express our sympathy to the family." Now, the slight wonder on Maria's face was replaced by straight-out astonishment. "I don't know..." she began, but she was interrupted by the other woman. This lady, whose diamond earrings were so large the glitter could probably blind a person, put her gloved hand on Maria's arm and said: "It must be hard, seeing how your employer is disgraced in such a manner. The whole town is speaking of it." She didn't seem to notice that Maria's mouth was slowly dropping open in utter amazement, as it began to dawn on her what the women might be getting at. "After all," the Diamond Earrings went on, " Captain von Trapp was always thought of as such a respectable gentleman. How he let himself be seduced by that young governess of his is beyond me. But now that he got her into trouble, of course he is doing the right thing by marrying her. Such a pity though, he was engaged to a much more suitable lady of course."  
  
Neither of the women had noticed how Maria's expression had changed during the last moments. Her cheeks had become red with anger and sparks shot from her eyes. She took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.  
  
"I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," she said with as much dignity as she could muster. She tried to step past pointy-hat towards the stairs, but the lady obviously didn't want to give up so easily.  
  
"Oh isn't that wonderful how you stand up for your employer," smiled the woman sweetly. "But surely you can't deny that the only reason he's marrying his little governess is because she is with child."  
  
Maria snapped her head at the woman, who actually took a step backward when she saw the anger bursting from Maria's eyes.  
  
"Well how strange that I wouldn't know about that." Maria's voice was oddly flat, and she even managed a short, cynical smile. "Seeing as I'm the little governess he's about to marry."  
  
With an angry motion, she pulled her arm from the woman's grip and briskly stepped around them, walking toward the stairs as fast as she could without running. The two gossiping women watched her leave in stunned silence.  
  
Maria stormed out the door of the department store positively steaming with anger. How dare they! The injustice and obvious untruth of what she'd just heard infuriated her to the core. Such horrible women, they had no idea! She shook her head angrily, almost as if that would help to remove the words that were pounding in her head, repeating over and over. "The only reason he's marrying his little governess is because she is with child," echoed inside her head. Really! She paced on with fast steps, hardly looking around her anymore.  
  
But as she rushed on down the street towards the bus stop, her anger slowly subsided, to be replaced with something else: hurt, and sadness. As Maria played the conversation again and again in her head, she slowly began to realise that these two women would not be the only ones thinking about her and Georg as they did.  
  
And she didn't even care about herself really. She had no family, nobody who could be hurt by this kind of gossip. But when she thought about Georg, and the children, her heart sank. His reputation had been impeccable up till now. Did he know how much his name was dragged through the mud, simply because he was marrying her? And how would this reflect on the children?  
  
When the bus stopped in front of her, she absently got on, not even greeting the driver. She sat down on the first empty chair she came across and sat staring ahead of her for the entire trip home, deeply in thought. 


	3. Food for Thought

Chapter 3 - Food for Thought  
  
By the time Maria reached the gate of the Von Trapp villa, she'd more or less got herself together again. She would tell Georg, she had decided for herself, but she didn't want to let him know how much she'd been affected. The mood of the last few weeks had been so blissfully happy, and she couldn't bring herself to ruining that.  
  
First, she reported to the kitchen, where she found Frau Schmidt on a chair, sitting next to a large bouquet of garden flowers, her foot bandaged and resting on a stool. Maria smiled. A real soldier did not leave the front for such a small injury, she thought, as she watched Frau Schmidt telling one of the maids to go make the beds.  
  
Placing a few parcels on the kitchen table from her purse, Maria said to the housekeeper: "These are from the drugstore. The food will be delivered this afternoon, and the linen by Thursday. How is your ankle?"  
  
Frau Schmidt sent a thankful smile at her. "Thank you so much for going, Fraulein Maria. I would have sent a maid, but they have enough to do already with me like this." She motioned toward her leg. "As long as I keep still, it is all right. Any movement is painful, though."  
  
Maria nodded. As a child, she was always running around, climbing trees, and getting into all sorts of mischief, and she had had enough first-hand experience with bruises and sprains to know what it felt like.  
  
She said goodbye to the housekeeper and went outside, hoping to find Georg alone for a moment so she could recount to him what had happened. She was disappointed when she found the terrace empty, the dishes from morning tea cleared away. But as she stood looking around, she heard cries and laughter from the direction of the lake, and she walked down the path that led to the boat landing. She found Georg and the children on the terrace by the lake, in the middle of a ballgame. Apparently, they all had a number assigned to them, and they must catch the ball as their number was called. They all laughed as Georg motioned to throw the ball at Friedrich, then quickly changed and threw it at Kurt, who wasn't expecting it at all. Maria watched them in silence for a little while. It was not often that she got the chance to watch Georg interact with his children, and she was filled with warmth and love at what she saw. What a difference to just a few months ago!  
  
Louisa was the first to see her standing there, and called out to her happily. "Fraulein Maria! Won't you join our game?" Maria walked up to them smiling. "I'll come to join you in a few minutes. Can I just steal your father away for a little while?" The children protested in mock insult that she was not joining, but were soon into the game again by themselves.  
  
Georg walked up to her with an investigating look on his face. As he slipped his arm around her waist, he planted a kiss on her cheek. He led her away from the children's noise, and asked: "Are you all right?"  
  
How did he do it, Maria wondered. She thought she had calmed down completely - and yet he saw in her face that something was wrong. Having reached the gazebo, Maria sat down on one of the benches, pulling Georg down to sit with her.  
  
She gave him the short version of what happened in the department store. "They must have thought I was a maid or something," she finished. "Otherwise they wouldn't have spoken to me of course. But it was clear that they do not believe you want to marry me out of love."  
  
During her story, Georg had only looked at her, not interrupting, holding her hand. Even though Maria hadn't literally repeated what the accusations were exactly, Georg could guess, and through her brave smile he could tell that she was actually quite upset. He pulled her toward him, and Maria rested her head on his shoulder. "Darling, darling, don't let them get to you," he told her, stroking her hair. "People must always gossip. And it's nothing but proof of their own narrow minds."  
  
She managed a smile into the fabric of his shirt. "But doesn't it bother you what they are saying about you?"  
  
"Don't forget what is really important," Georg said, taking her face in his hands and sitting back so he could look at her. "I love you. Nothing else matters. And don't you forget that!" Now, Maria's face broke into a full smile. "I love you, too," she replied, and leaned closer to kiss him. "Mmm," mumbled Georg. "I notice." And as he kissed her back, she felt the last bit of anger and anxiousness drain from her body.  
  
"My goodness," mumbled Maria as she looked around her, and cast her eyes upward in a silent prayer. She had taken these children into Salzburg, shopped, picnicked, and climbed trees with them, fallen into the lake with them, and even put on a puppet show, and never during all of that had she ever really had the feeling she was in over her head - until now. The kitchen was a mess. And to be frank, she had to admit, so were the children. All of them, herself included, were covered in a thin layer of flour. Eggs had splattered on the ground, every single horizontal surface was covered in bits of food, and somehow, the chocolate glazing for the Wiener Sachertorte had ended up on the ceiling.  
  
Even though Georg had comforted her, she hadn't been able to stop her thoughts from drifting back to the department store every now and then - only to be called back to reality by a small disaster of some kind. But somehow, it did look like dinner was ready. There were large bowls of green salad on the table, over which Liesl was now sprinkling the last bit of dressing. The noodles were cooking on the stove, which was more than Maria had expected when she'd seen Brigitta, Marta and Gretl messily moulding the eggs, flour and water together an hour before. A large pan of meat-and-tomato sauce was heating next to the noodles, with Kurt - whose entire shirt was tomato-coloured - stirring it carefully. Louisa was slicing the Sachertorte and Friedrich was watching her like a hawk, making sure every piece she cut was the same size as the previous. Maria shrugged. Well... maybe it wasn't so bad, all in all. After all, dirty kitchens could be cleaned.  
  
She noticed Johanna, one of the maids, entering the kitchen and clapped her hands to get everybody's attention. "All right all right, everybody! Apart from the mess" - this caused the children to giggle - " I think you've done a good job. I've asked Johanna to come and keep an eye on the stove, so we can all go to clean up and change for dinner." At her words, the children immediately made a beeline for the door, thinking they were getting out of cleaning up the mess. But Maria had anticipated this, and, catching Kurt by the shoulders, she turned him around and marched him back to the stove. "BUT - first we clean up the biggest mess. Come on now, if we all do something it'll be done in five minutes."  
  
And indeed, Maria mused as she took another bite of salad, it had worked out rather well. She looked round the table at the children, who had all managed to get the flour out of their hair. Only a smear of chocolate glazing round Marta's lips told that she hadn't been able to resist tasting a dab. Finally, she let her gaze rest on Georg, who was sitting next to her. "And, darling, what do you think," she asked him with a smile.  
  
The children looked up at him in anticipation. Their father had not yet commented on the food in any way and they so much wanted to know what he thought of it. "Well," Georg started, "it's.. different."  
  
Maria bit her lip trying not to laugh, while Louisa and Liesl exchanged hidden smiles, having seen the twinkle in the Captain's eyes. But from the other children came a storm of protest. "Oh Father, come on," cried Friedrich, and Brigitta piped up, "Do you know how much work those noodles were, father?" Georg managed to keep a straight face. "Well, it just can't compare to Frau Schmidt's dinners." This only caused more protest, of course. "No." Georg continued, "this really is a lot better!" And at the surprised faces of his children, he burst out laughing, with the children quickly joining in.  
  
Georg stole a glance at Maria. Softly, without anybody else hearing, he whispered at her: "You really do keep surprising me every time, Fraulein." "As I've told you before. They're your children, Captain," she returned the compliment. 


	4. Nothing Else Matters

NOTE: the Getreidegasse really is the name of the shopping street in the old centre of Salzburg. In the TV-special The Sound of Christmas, Julie Andrews returns to Salzburg and she can be seen walking down a crowded street - that's the Getreidegasse.  
  
Chapter 4 - Nothing Else Matters  
  
Friday came without further accidents or incidents. Maria had rounded up the children after lunch, and now the eight of them were walking down the Getreidegasse, the major shopping street in Salzburg.  
  
With seven children and seven different interests, Maria found she needed eyes everywhere. Brigitta lingered behind, looking at the shop window of a large bookstore. Liesl had drifted to the other side of the street, where a well-known fashion store had a window full of lovely dresses. The little ones had been hard to get away from a toy store and the boys were fascinated by a shop with bikes and skis. Louisa just looked around in amusement, having a good time looking at all the people and taking in the sights and smells. Eventually, they managed to reach the large shop of the designer of Maria's wedding gown, without losing anybody. While the girls eagerly stumbled into the store, the boys stood looking at it with mixed emotions on their faces.  
  
"You boys may run off across the street," Maria motioned with her head. "But back here in fifteen minutes, and not a second later!" Gladly, Friedrich and Kurt ran back in the direction of the sports shop. Maria shook her head watching them go, then turned around to step into the dress shop.  
  
She found Gretl and Marta pleading with Frau Orbach, the shop owner, to show them Maria's gown. The lady was all smiles, but had managed to refuse their pleas so far. The other girls were wandering around, admiring the beautiful dresses and materials.  
  
"Hello Frau Orbach," Maria greeted. "Good morning Maria, how are you? I have your shoes back here, they just arrived this morning." She walked towards a curtain, which closed off a section of the shop. "Shoes?" Marta asked surprised. She had hoped to see Maria try on her wedding gown. Maria knelt next to her. "Yes sweetheart. I have ordered white shoes to go with my wedding gown. And I don't want my feet to hurt when I wear them, so I'm going to walk in them at home a bit before the big day," she explained. "Aha," Marta nodded, looking at Maria as if this was the most serious thing she had ever heard. Then her face lit up with a smile. "So we will see at least a bit of what you will look like, Fraulein Maria," she declared happily. Maria smiled. "Yes. I think it will be quite all right for you all to know what my shoes look like." She couldn't suppress a grin.  
  
Frau Orbach had returned with a shoebox in her hand, and mentioned to Maria to come over and try them on. Maria stood up. "Marta, Gretl, why don't you find Liesl and look around the shop a bit. I'll be right back." The girls nodded and walked into the shop, looking for their sisters.  
  
The shoes were a perfect fit, so Maria was done quickly. She talked over a few details of her gown with Frau Orbach, and then called the girls together to get going. "Have you seen the boys return yet," she asked Louisa, who shook her head. "Can't we just stay a little longer, until they return," she asked with pleading eyes. "Sweetheart, we'll miss the bus. Come, let's see if the boys are outside waiting." Reluctantly, Liesl and Brigitta also pulled themselves away from the lace and ribbons they had been looking at. When they emerged outside, Maria just noticed the boys walking in their direction, talking vividly. "Oh, Fraulein Maria, we saw the most awesome bike," Friedrich told her excitedly. Kurt nodded, trying to add weight to Friedrich's words. "I'm going to ask father for one for my birthday!" he declared. Maria raised her eyebrows at him. "Your birthday is not for 6 months, Kurt! I'm sure you'll have thought of lots of other things by the time it's January." But Kurt shook his head fervently. "No, I want this bike, I'm sure of it," he declared seriously. "Well, we'll see by then," Maria told him. "All right, everybody here? Let's head for the bus stop, and no wondering off anybody, or we'll miss the bus."  
  
They walked down the street, chattering nicely about everything they'd seen in the shops. Maria felt a small hand slide into hers and she looked sideways to see it was Marta. They smiled at each other, and for a little while Marta skipped happily next to Maria. After a few minutes, Marta opened her mouth. "Fraulein Maria," she asked, pulling Maria's hand a bit for extra attention. "There was a lady in the dress shop with us, who pointed at you and whispered to a man that you are Captain von Trapp's little whore." A frown formed in Marta's forehead. "She looked a bit like the baroness, that lady."  
  
When Maria didn't say anything, Marta pulled her hand again. "Fraulein Maria, what does that word mean?"  
  
Again, Maria didn't say anything, but Marta felt she stopped walking. She stopped to and looked up to her governess to see her staring ahead with a blank face. Maria's bright blue eyes shone with tears. "Fraulein Maria? What's the matter?" Maria seemed to come to her senses, blinked her eyes and looked down at Marta, forcing a smile around her lips.  
  
"Oh, Marta, that was a nasty lady. That's a bad word, dear, and you shouldn't ever say that again." Marta nodded seriously. "All right. but why would she call you a bad word?"  
  
Maria sighed. "I don't know sweetheart. I really don't know." She started walking again, to keep up with the others, and Marta practically had to jog along to keep up with her. When Maria remained walking in silence, Marta asked, "Are you angry with me, Fraulein Maria?" Maria squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Not with you dear, never. Come on, we're going home."  
  
On the bus home, the children were all much too exited to notice how quiet Maria was. Only Brigitta looked at her with an investigative frown, but when Louisa asked her help to describe some kind of ribbon to Liesl, she too got swept into the chatter again.  
  
By the time they arrived back at the villa, it was nearly time for dinner. Maria told the children to go upstairs and change, and she too disappeared to her room to freshen up.  
  
At the dinner table, the children were still excited, and they gave their father and Max a detailed account of everything they'd seen in town. Kurt couldn't stop talking about 'his' new bicycle, and went on for so long that Georg eventually threatened not to buy him anything for his birthday at all if he didn't shut up right away. Liesl pleaded with her father for a new dress for the wedding. "Well of course dear, you will all get new clothes. Not that anybody will be looking at YOU," he quipped, and smiled at Maria.  
  
She didn't answer his smile though. As a matter of fact, Georg wondered if she'd heard anything that had been said at the table at all. She had been awfully quiet this afternoon. When she felt him staring at her, she looked up quickly, and shot him an apologetic glance. Not wanting to confront his inquiring eyes, Maria let her eyes dart to the children and she took a bite of her mashed potatoes. Georg gave her a last look, then turned his attention back to Liesl. He was sure Maria was upset about something... But he would find out what it was after dinner.  
  
During dessert, Maria fussed with her pudding, only moving it around her plate and not really eating. She was wondering how to tell Georg what happened. Of course she would have to tell him, she didn't doubt that, but as she saw Marta's innocent, inquiring face in front of her, she couldn't think of a way how. As soon as dinner was over, she quietly slipped out into the garden, trying to get a little more time to think. Georg noticed her, and decided to give her a few minutes to herself, before going after her.  
  
Maria headed for the gazebo and sat down, her head resting in her hands. She heard the words in her head, over and over again. "Captain von Trapp's little whore.." ". his little governess is with child."  
  
How could she marry Georg, if this was the opinion he would get in return for it? Obviously his reputation would be ruined, and it turned out that the children would not be spared, either. Marta hadn't realized the meaning of what she had heard, but what if it had been Louisa or Liesl? What kind of effect would these rumours have on them? She thought she could offer these children happiness, a new family life, but apparently all she had to offer them was gossip and loss of reputation.  
  
She didn't notice that Georg quietly walked up to her. His heart sank as he saw her sitting, and he bit his lip when he noticed a tear running down her cheek, shimmering in the moonlight.  
  
"Maria... " he whispered.  
  
Startled, she got up. She turned her head away from him, wiping the tear away from her cheek. "Georg, I." she stumbled.  
  
He walked up to her, sat down, and pulled her down next to him. "What is the matter, my love," he asked, as he put his arms around him.  
  
"Oh Georg, I, today, oh, this is awful," Maria stuttered incomprehensibly, and not able to hold back her tears anymore, cried onto his shoulder. Georg just held her and let her sob for a while. He wondered what could be upsetting her so. Something more was wrong than just pre-wedding nerves, which had been his first guess.  
  
When her sobs subsided, Maria managed to tell him what had happened that afternoon. "You should have seen Marta's face, Georg," she said sadly, "With those big eyes looking up at me and she asked what 'whore' meant."  
  
She pulled back from his embrace and stood up, turning her back at him. She couldn't utter what she wanted to say next to his face. "I understand if you'd want to reconsider the wedding," she whispered so softly he almost didn't understand her.  
  
Georg closed his eyes in a grimace of pain. So that was what had been bothering her. She'd felt guilty for doing damage to his reputation, so guilty even that she had been having doubts about whether he'd still want to marry her.  
  
He stood up and walked up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. She tried to step away from him but he didn't let her. "Maria." he whispered into her hair. "Don't you realise that I love you? I love you more than anything on this earth. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me." She shook her head. "But the children," she whispered.  
  
"Them too!" Georg nodded his head fervently. "They love you and you love them. You gave them back their father and a normal life."  
  
He turned her around to face him. "Maria.. " She saw the love in his eyes and pulled him close to her with a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry Georg," she said, holding him so close he almost couldn't breathe.  
  
He guided her back to the bench and sat down, still holding her in his arms. "You silly little nun," he joked, rubbing her shoulders. She let out a small laugh, a bit watery still, but a laugh nonetheless.  
  
"Still, I don't understand it,'' he mused. "I've seen you stand up to me, to seven impossible children, to your superiors in the convent. How come you let yourself get so upset over a couple of strangers?"  
  
She shrugged. "Well, when you only have yourself to make a fool of, it's not so difficult to stand up. It's a lot different when your actions are hurting the people you love." Georg nodded his head in agreement. He'd thought as much. "Nothing you can do will ever hurt me," he said, and kissed her on her forehead. They sat in silence for a while, and Georg felt Maria calm down in his arms.  
  
"Just one more thing," she finally said. "I, eh.. The veil of my wedding gown will be held in place by an ivy wreath. Do you think maybe I should not wear it?"  
  
He looked at her in utter surprise.  
  
"Well," she quickly tried to explain," As the whole city seems so sure about me being with child, don't you think wearing a symbol of virginity will be taken the wrong way? It might actually cause even more gossip." She looked away from him, her cheeks reddening slightly.  
  
"Maria, I couldn't care less about these people. And I think an Ivy wreath would be beautiful on your head. Don't let the outside world upset you so.. Once we are married, they will soon find something else to talk about."  
  
She nodded. Relieved to have gotten all of this off her chest, she leaned into him closely. 'I really do love you," she stated seriously. "And I you, Fraulein," he agreed.  
  
He started trailing little butterfly kisses along her neck. His hands hugged her tighter to him and she moaned softly in enjoyment. Turning around to face him, her lips found his. She was so eager to kiss him, that he pulled back from her in laughter. "What," she asked, looking taken aback. He touched her on the tip of her nose. "Nothing, my dear Fraulein. just take it easy. You don't want to end up having a REAL reason for not wearing the ivy, do you?"  
  
Maria turned a deep crimson and cast her eyes downward. Still, she couldn't hide a little smile. Georg laughed again and took her face between his hands. "You are adorable," he whispered at her. 'I love you." And just before losing himself to her kisses again, he added: "And nothing else matters."  
  
~~ THE END ~~ 


End file.
